Page 6 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, JAnuARy 17, 2025 Middlesex Sheriff’s Offi ce fi rst to install a naloxone vending machine Dispenses free overdose reversal medication R ecently, Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian announced that the Middlesex Sheriff ’s Offi ce (MSO) has become the fi rst sheriff ’s office in the Commonwealth to install a naloxone vending machine (Link to B-Roll), making the opioid overdose reversal medication available for free to all visitors and staff at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction. The machine was installed on December 9 at the facility’s visitor center and has already been used 24 times since its launch. Over the past two calendar years, more than 25,000 visits have been processed at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction. Visitors included family members, friends, attorneys, volunteers and other law enforcement partners. Currently, approximately 2025% of incarcerated individuals in the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction are receiving a If We Happen To Meet By Accident ... You’ll Be Glad You Found Us! There is a difference between the rest and the BEST! Celebrating 46 Years In Business! TONY’S AUTO BODY Call or Visit 781-321-0032 34 Sharon Street Malden, MA 02148 TONYSAUTOBODYLLC.COM COME VISIT OUR STATE OF THE ART BODY SHOP • Computerized Paint Matching (State of the Art Spray Booth) • Computerized Frame Machines • P.P.G. Refinishing System • R134 + 1234yf A/C Machines Fully Insured -RS2415 Insurance Company Approval ALL OUR WORK IS GUARANTEED! TONY BARTOLO Owner 46 Years Let Us Handle Your Next Insurance Claim. Go With the BEST It Doesn’t Get BETTER! RENTAL CARS Available The Middlesex Sheriff ’s Offi ce has become the fi rst sheriff ’s offi ce in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to install a naloxone vending machine at one of its facilities. The machine was installed on December 9, 2024, at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction in Billerica, Mass. (Courtesy photo) U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medication for opioid use disorder (OUD). Many of them participate via the Medication Assisted Treatment and Directed Opioid Recovery (MATADOR) program off ered at the facility – considered a national best practice by the National Institute of Corrections. “We have always taken a comprehensive, public health-centered approach to supporting those working through recovery,” said Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian. “Through MATADOR and our Families in Treatment program, we have been at the forefront of implementing commonsense, data-driven initiatives to surround individuals and their families with options for treatment. This new eff ort builds upon that robust foundation and will help make this life-saving medication more readily available.” Individuals visiting the facility can access the naloxone anonymously, and they will answer a few brief survey questions regarding age, gender, race and zip code. Survey data will be used to help inform future MSO programming, as well as community-based prevention and inurry College congratulates Tyler David of Evertervention initiatives along with stakeholders from across Middlesex County. The survey takes less than 30 seconds to complete. In addition to dispensing the naloxone, the vending machine features a video and graphics with instructions on how to properly administer the medication. Currently, MSO distributes naloxone to loved ones of incarcerated individuals through the Families in Treatment (FIT) training programs. To date, 234 community members have been trained through the FIT program. Access to naloxone and training on how to properly administer it has been proven eff ective in saving lives across Massachusetts. Earlier this year, data released by the Department of Public Health showed that its distribution of 196,500 naloxone kits through community-level programs resulted in at least 10,206 overdose reversals since the beginning of 2023. The Middlesex Sheriff ’s Offi ce is using funding from a Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program (COSSAP) grant to support this groundbreaking initiative. Tyler David makes Curry College Dean’s List C ett, Mass., who was named to the Fall 2024 Dean’s List. Curry College, which was founded in Boston in 1879, is a private, co-educational, liberal arts-based institution located on 131 acres in Milton, Mass. The College extends its educational programs to a continuing education branch campus in Plymouth. For more info, visit www.curry.edu
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